Srinagar: About sixty Pakistan, many of whom are spouses of surrendered Kashmir militants, and their children in neighboring countries, are being repatriated through the Waga border.
Official sources here said all of these people, including the mother of a policeman killed in the terrorist attack, have been collected from various areas of Jamu and Kashmir and taken buses to Punjab, where they will be handed over to Pakistani authorities on the Waga border.
But the decision about the women in the Pakistan-occupied Jami and Kashmir (POJK) who also married former militants, married to repatriation from J&K, or allowed them to stay on Chame Island and Kashmir – will remain on Chame Island and Kashmir within a few days – will be said in a few days, which is a reliable source of information.
In response to the recent deadly terrorist attack in Baisaran Meadow at the Prime Minister of Kashmir, Prime Minister of Kashmir, killing 26 Indian Hindu tourists and local Muslim horse riders, New Delhi suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals and, after revoking almost all existing visas, all Pakistani citizens were revoked to leave the country.
The Pakistani wife of former Kashmir militants did not fall into any visa category that India revoked, and was demoted with a series of measures to relegate ties to neighbors, which were armed by IT and taught terrorists in J&K.
After the Indian government announced a “rehabilitation policy” for former Kashmir militants, the women came to J&K, who crossed Pakistan and Pojk in the 1990s in a way that replaced surrender.
The number of these women is about 250, and local media quoted some of them as saying, “Allow us to stay here or send us to human bags in Pakistan.” An official, who asked not to be named, said that since many of these women are actually residents of Pojk, who are part of J&K, it is an integral part of the country, according to the official position of India, and they may escape.
In the past, the women held a series of street protests in the capital Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley, saying Indian authorities would not allow them to return to Pakistan. They would complain that their lives have become extremely difficult and unpleasant because they were neither granted Indian nationality nor allowed to return to Pakistan.
According to the government’s rehabilitation policy, the women accompanied their husbands to the valley. Under the policy, the then-headed National Assembly Parliamentary Union Government of Omar Abdullah, about 212 former militants returned from Nepal through Nepal and returned to other routes between 2010 and 2012 after the coalition interior minister agreed in 2010.
Although the government received as many as 1,082 applications from young people who crossed the LOC, which apparently received weapons training, the government approved only 219 cases after the security permit. Many of them come back here with their Pakistani or Boji wives and children.
As their families have expanded, and many of these women are now actively involved in various business efforts to help their spouses increase their income or work independently.
But some, including Kubra Gillani, who were originally residents of the Domel area of Pojk, have been left behind after being separated from the Kashmiris husband or their deaths, while others died – one of them reportedly committed suicide after being refused permission to go home.
Pakistani women and their children were detained for violating the government’s deportation order and have been previously notified by India, Senior Police Department (SSP), CID Special Branch (SB) Kashmir, who also holds charges from the Foreign Registration Officer (FRO), which is the charges of Kashmir.
They added that the action was in accordance with an order issued by the Indian government, the Ministry of the Interior (Foreigners – Division I) on April 25, directing all foreign nationals (Pakistan) who illegally stayed in India in India to leave the country with a positive attitude on or before April 27.
“In spite of the expiration of the notification and deadline, many Pakistani nationals continued to remain in Kashmir. In the event of failure, the J&K police launched a coordinated operation to detain all those who did not comply with government orders,” the news agency said.
It again quoted unnamed sources as saying that detained Pakistani nationals would help reach the Waga border and would be handed over to Pakistani authorities after completing the necessary formalities. It added that the move has sparked anxiety about participating families, especially because many women have established family relationships for many years in Kashmir.
The report said that among the deported people, 36 live in Srinagar, in Baramulla and Kupwara, four in Budgam and two in Shopian area. Special policeman Mudasir Ahmad Shaikh’s mother Shameema Akhtar laid his life while fighting militants in May 2022, and he was also listed on the list of people who were expelled.
Meanwhile, senior CPIM leader and MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami said on Tuesday that it is inhumane for Pakistan and Pojk to expel women from J&K after the government introduced rehabilitation policies in 2010. “These women married local Kashmiris and have raised their lives here since they arrived and lived in peace.” He added: “They always seek to live as law-abiding citizens and be fully integrated into society. Forced their deportation will only destroy their families and cause deep mental pain”.
Mehbooba Mufti, former chief minister and president of the opposition PDP, wrote on “X”, “Recent government directives to expel all Pakistani nationals in India have attracted serious humanitarian concern, especially in Jamu & Kashmir. Many of the affected women are women who came to India 30-40 years ago, married Indian citizens, married Indian citizens, married families and continue our society.
She urged the government to reconsider the decision and “take a compassionate approach to women, children and the elderly”. She asserted: “Exiting people who have lived peacefully in India for decades is not only inhumane, but also can cause deep emotional and physical distress to families who do not know other families now”.
The centre warned on Monday that any Pakistan that fails to leave India will be arrested, prosecuted and could face a fine of up to three years or up to Rs 3 lakh or both, according to the deadline set by the government.
